Round 1
Zahra's anxiety was making her body shake like she had hypothermia and it set-up a rattle in the chain connected to her manacles. Everyone froze for a moment but no driver came to check on the noise.
Tymythy took a long hard look at the manacles. They consisted of two bent pieces of flat-bar iron hinged with a thick pin on one side. The other side had a simple barrel lock. The keyhole started off as a hexed hole but peering inside, which was difficult on account of how the manacles held his hands, he could see a grooved passage requiring a shaped pin.
The top of the manacles had a three way chain welded to it. One end of the chain led to his ankle cuffs. The other two ends led to Dounia's empty manacles on one side and Zahra's manacles on the other. The three had been daisy-chained together and the chain ended at the front of the cage at a rather sturdy looking padlock. They were mirrored by Craedeamh, Cairee, and Khata on the right side of the cage.
Looking over the manacles, Tymythy could discern no worthwhile weak point ... but something bothered him. The lock mechanism looked like the release mechanism for the bear traps that western tribes in Divolgatia used. If he could only remember.
The hex keyhole certainly seemed susceptible to the right implement ...
Just then, and just behind the young warrior, Dounia worried a three inch long square stock nail from the wood.
"Here, I may be able to help," Tymythy whispered, moving closer to Dounia. "Locks like these... I have seen before. That second tumbler. It locks in place easily. A problem when trapping, when the chain is not secured as properly as you think it is, and the beast can run away with the trap - a bad thing, a wounded bear on the loose. But helpful, here. Start with it, and you don't have to worry about holding it in place as much as the other tumblers."
Cairee closed her eyes tight as she grasped the little stone hung about her neck and began muttering. Dounia could feel that warmth again. It was like a distant star was rooting for her ... though she could neither see nor hear it.
Zahra began to gather herself. Hope crept back into her head, but only a little hope. The young Dounia had escaped her manacles - and had found a nail? Just a nail?! But it wasn't nothing.
The Dwarven woman Craedeamh stopped all she was doing and nodded 'You've got this.'
Khata tried to edge toward the young warrior Tymythy. She looked anxious and greedy.
As Tymythy pointed out the lock mechanism, Dounia could see it, could picture it in her mind's eye. The hex hole, the obstructions, she could 'see' the shape of the key needed.
Fail
Fail
Fail
Fail
Pass Tymythy hands
Fail
Fail
Pass Tymythy feet
Pass Zahra hands
Fail
"Yes, I see it," Dounia whispered, her eyes still half-closed. The nail was the wrong tool for the job, but better than nothing. She worked on the second tumbler...no, it slipped, wait, here we go, yes!
There was a soft click and the manacles opened. Dounia froze, ear cocked to the drivers, but they didn't seem to hear. Allowing herself a breath and a smile, she bit back a shout of victory.
Turning her attention to the manacles at his feet, she inserted the nail and tried again - it was easier this time, only one or two false starts, and then the manacles clicked open.
Moving immediately to Zahra, Dounia found her manacles even easier - she barely had the nail inside before the manacles opened with a pop. Grinning with delight, she moved to the clawed-witch's feet, and started working on those manacles. I might be able to get them all free!
Everyone was as quiet as desert mice.
Caedeamh nodded at little Dounia but there was no reassurance in it. There didn't have to be. She, with help from her co-captives, had unlocked three manacles in under a minute. There was a moment when, just before Tymythy's manacles unlocked, that the nail slipped and she cut her hand but by the time she got to Zahra's cuff her confidence rose. .
Seeing her move on to Zahra's cuffs Khata hissed out in a low serpentine curse, "Do me next or I swear to the dark moon I'll scream."
Rounds 12-21
Zahra breathed a sigh of relief as the manacles encasing her hands clicked open. She splayed her fingers wide, mindful of the claws. "Thank you, Dounia. You have my eternal gratitude. I will make sure you are rewarded by my parents."
When Khata threatened to scream, Zahra looked appalled. "You would seriously jeopardize us all like that, yourself included? No one is going to be left behind because no one should be sold into slavery. So it doesn't matter what order she goes in." And to prove her point, Zahra stopped Dounia from working on her feet. "Do my feet last. Make sure you free all the others first."
Khata, listened to Zahra and then she scanned the rest of the captors. Was it that she was shamed by the words? or, did she know she had lost ground with the other captors? One look in Caedeamh's eyes revealed a look that could kill.
Khata said nothing and backed away as much as the chain would allow.
Rounds 12-21
Cairee stayed laser focused on Dounia, drowning out all else around them. All that mattered was getting as many of them free as possible. If she could be part of that, it would almost make her long torturous journey worth it. Almost.
Fail (Crit)
Fail
Pass (Crit)
Pass
Pass
Fail
Pass
Fail
Fail (Crit)
Pass
Cairee continued to call out to Saiph but suddenly everyone felt to total absence of support. There was no Saiph. There had never been a distant star that called out to you all from the vastness of Immarundingir . Critical seconds ticked away until Cairee gripped the stone harder and suddenly the light returned strong and whole. But calling out was becoming tiring. An age of being in this one cage sewed doubt in Cairee's heart.
Cairee whispers to Dounia, "I want to tell you to do me last, but if you can do even my hands I'll be in a much better position to help Saiph help you "
Founds 12-21
Turning to Khata, eyes blazing, Dounia said in a venomous whisper. "You will do no such thing! You will stay silent, and possibly escape. If you scream, and spoil this for all of us, then I will do everything in my power to make sure you are bought by the most vile, lecherous evil man at the market."
As the girl retreated, cowed, Dounia turned to the clawed witch and whispered, "You might be able to use your claws to pick the lock. Tymythy, can you walk her through it, like you did me?"
Dounia bent her attnetion turned to Cairee. "Is that your god helping me? I will definitely help you next!"
Cairee hands
Cairee feet
Caedeamh's hands
Caedeamh's feet
Khata hands
Khata feet
Zahra feet if necessary, gate lock otherwise.
The feeling of grace from the heavens came and went, but Douia had the knack of it now. In near perfect silence, she used the nail with increasing expertise, and the witch's hands and feet were free. The old dwarf's eyes were alight with wonder, but Dounia barely noticed. She had reached a state of extreme calm, nearly meditative, and again, she unlocked both sets of manacles on the first try.
Turning to the thief, she whispered. "You will be calm and wait when I am done with you, until I have freed her as well," she nodded her head to Zahra. "Then I will unlock this cage, and we will leave. Together."
The girl, eyes wide, nodded shortly. Dounia turned her attention to her bonds, but fumbled the nail. She recovered quickly, and it took less than fifty heartbeats to free the rude girl.
Not wishing to risk attracting the guards' attention by speaking aloud more than necessary, the clansman instead met Douria's eyes and bowed his head low in gratitude. Again, he sensed the spirits' hand in his circumstances - to be captured, only to be locked in with someone skilled in the art of thievery. Surely, that was no accident.
After spending a few moments rubbing his wrists and ankles to help restore circulation, Tymythy moved stealthily closer to the cage's door, the one the guard had used to bring in water, to use his own body to prevent the guard seeing what Douria was up to, in case some sound or ill luck caused him to take a look at just the most inconvenient time.
Khata could see she hadn't one co-captive on her side. Dounia's admonition seemed to summon the street-rat-of-a-girl's resolve, but Khata was obviously weighing her options in her mind and you could all see her make the silent decision that she had none. As Tymythy stalked his way to the gate, the girl pushed back against the bars to give him room and to watch.
The noise she had kicked up didn't seem to alert the drivers. The woman was probably too busy managing the horses to pay attention, and the man had so far been dumb to any of the actions of the cadged.
Craedeamh looked as though she might cry and it was a strange sight. Dwarves are possessed of a strange willpower which, at times, made them mistakable for carved stone. She looked at her wrists like she had never seen them before. She looked at Cairee, Zahra, Tymythy, and settled her eyes on Dounia. Her expression could have been mistaken for anger but, no, it wasn't quite anger. She was searing two things, indelibly into her brain: the image of Dounia's face ... and an unspoken promise.
"I have two daughters at the southern foot of the Ardcathairs. They won't know what happened to me.", her mind was clearly a thousand miles away and she spoke as if this moment was the first she let herself think of her little ones. "What day is it???"
Tymythy's watch on the gate was as singular as a guard hounds. He could hear the clacking of great wheels like the wagon was passing through a giant machine works. The others could hear the guards talking to each other. Something to do with all of this soon being over. Dounia could smell a faint oil smell and she was certain the wagon had just entered the warehouse and factory district. Fishmonger's Square would be on its' far end.
Zahra looked like she was going to protest - she was a seamstress and not a locksmith - but with the encouragement of Tymythy, she scrounged the courage to try.
Zahra inserted one of her claws into the lock and felt for the mechanism that Tymythy described. She took a sharp intake of breath as she thought she felt something start to give way but her almost celebration quickly deflated into a low moan as nothing happened.
She whispered it to everyone as much as to herself 'as if' she remembered she had daughters when the manacles came off.
As this is a fantasy world I feel a paranoid need to explain that these were not magical manacles that suppressed Craedeamh's memory.
Dounia took pity on the clawed woman and returned to release her from her foot manacles. There was no shame. She clearly never had a Cyra to teach her such things.
The group could hear children running through the streets. With the singing of the hours it seemed late in the day, and in the warehouse district? Young hooligans playing amongst the great machinery. They ran up to the wagon, grabbed on to the sides to peer under the cover to see what horrible bandits were trapped within, then let go to run free as wild animals.
One child, having snuck under the tarp, held on to the bars and paused there curious of the unmanacled slaves, <in broken aerthane>"What are you doing?" He was none too quiet about it.
Dounia bent her attnetion turned to Cairee. "Is that your god helping me? I will definitely help you next!"
The manacles easily slid open at Dounia's touch. Cairee sat frozen for a moment, not quite believing it. She'd been chained to this corner of the cage for weeks, though it had felt like years. She was afraid to move, terrified that her limbs had forgotten how to work.
Her face was suddenly wet and it took a moment to realize why. Cairee's first free action was to wipe tears from her cheeks. "Thank you, friend," she whispered to Dounia, and turned her attention back to helping the young girl free the others.
"I have two daughters at the southern foot of the Ardcathairs. They won't know what happened to me.", her mind was clearly a thousand miles away and she spoke as if this moment was the first she let herself think of her little ones. "What day is it???"
Cairee gave Craedeamh a kind smile. The dwarf had been in this cage longer than her, and Cairee felt a kind of kinship with the quiet woman. "I believe it's around the 77 of Ti, though I'm not certain. We'll help you get word to your children. I met some helpful pigeons before that are wonderful at carrying messages. I can send word to my Order as well."
Tymythy moved stealthily closer to the cage's door, the one the guard had used to bring in water, to use his own body to prevent the guard seeing what Douria was up to, in case some sound or ill luck caused him to take a look at just the most inconvenient time.
"Can you see the guards? Do you think we could slip away unnoticed? If not, I can give us some cover."
She turned to Zahra. "We should all stick together. What way should we go?"
When Dounia turned her attention to the cage lock, Cairee refocused her attention on helping her. With her hands now free it was so much easier to call upon Saiph for assistance.
"I believe it's around the 77 of Ti, though I'm not certain.
Dounia looked up at the orange haired witch in surprise. "You're almost two weeks off! Not surprising, you have come a long way. But today is the first of Karru." She wanted to ask more about why the slavers had brought them so far, but knew the time for questions was later.
"What are you doing?"
Dounia looked up at the dirt-smeared face. Whispering, she said, "Hey, want to earn a few coins?" Seeing the child nod, eyes wide, she continued, "Is there another wagon? Go see what's in it. But quietly, this is top secret." Hopefully the child could figure out where their stuff was. Freedom was great, but if she wanted to find Cyra, she was going to need her stuff.
Once the face had disappeared, Dounia turned her attention to the padlock. The nail scraped around inside, and she could feel that she was so close...then the warmth of the stars smiled upon her, and the nail clicked into place, and the padlock sprung open.
Holding the door shut, not knowing if it would squeak, she turned to the others and whispered, "What's the plan?"
Dounia looked up at the orange haired witch in surprise. "You're almost two weeks off! Not surprising, you have come a long way. But today is the first of Karru."
Zahra frowned, "Are you sure? I could have sworn it was the 91st of Ti." She shrugged, "Seems like captivity has messed with all of our sense of time."
With her feet just newly freed, Zahra froze when the urchin poked their head into the wagon. Inside her head she chanted, Listen to Dounia, listen to Dounia, listen to Dounia She gave the child a warm smile and nodded, "Top secret to prove you're smarter than the adults."
She turned to Zahra. "We should all stick together. What way should we go?"
There was no question in Zahra's mind where she was headed as soon as she was free and considering the others were in need, she had to take them with her. "We head for my home. My parents will get help and provide hospitality until everyone figures out where they need to go."
@Cairee - is your last post for up to round 21?
But today is the first of Karru.
"Are you sure? I could have sworn it was the 91st of Ti."
Dounia had made Cairee's head spin. Was she really off by so much? But when Zahra chimed in it really worried her. They'd both been picked up this morning. How could they be so wrong? Was this solely the stress and confusion of being captured, or was something else going on?
One child, having snuck under the tarp..."What are you doing?"
Cairee froze. Oh no oh no oh no oh no! They were so close to escaping and now this child could accidentally ruin it! She had no idea what to do, and only clamped her jaw down to stop the hysterical scream she felt rising in her throat.
"Hey, want to earn a few coins?" Seeing the child nod, eyes wide, she continued, "Is there another wagon? Go see what's in it. But quietly, this is top secret."
Relief flooded through Cairee. She stared at Dounia, impressed at her quick thinking. This child was clearly very experienced and capable. Though a few years older, Cairee felt her inexperience and hoped it didn't cause them any trouble. She turned her attention to outside the cage, trying to hear if the child had grabbed the attention of their captors.
Through the noise of the busy streets she just couldn't tell.
"What's the plan?"
""We head for my home."
"I could ask Saiph to provide some cover. It would become very...misty, make it hard for us to be seen? Could help if there is another wagon with our stuff? Give us some time to break in?"
"Can you see the guards? Do you think we could slip away unnoticed? If not, I can give us some cover."
”I dare not lift the canvas to draw their attention,” Tymythy whispered back, right into Caireen’s ear to minimize the risk of his voice carrying over the racket outside. ”The streets seem busy, though. If we get into the crowds, we might lose any pursuers.” He thought, he didn’t add aloud. Human forest was not the kind of terrain he was used to sneak through – trees and bushes rarely pointed out a hunter stalking among them to his prey, not if he knew what he was doing. People, on the other hand…
There was no question in Zahra's mind where she was headed as soon as she was free and considering the others were in need, she had to take them with her. "We head for my home. My parents will get help and provide hospitality until everyone figures out where they need to go."
Tymythy nodded his silent agreement to this plan. He was a stranger in a strange land, so he did not have a problem taking his cue from someone who knew the people and the terrain. Besides, if the spirits had guided his steps to meet these young women, he needed to find out why.
Zahra thought for a moment and she realized she couldn’t swear to how long she had been unconscious in the great yurt in Kibiri … nor to how many strangers came to assess her for the tall thin woman in the red dress.
Craedeamh looked softly to Cairee, ”Forgive me Cairee but I shouldn’t trust you. You were in a terrible fever that tried to break many times but lasted a fortnight plus a day. You kept muttering something about an ‘arnyanmar’. You were quite mad. Quard contemplated dumping you in the mountains more than once.”
The dwarf looked on Cairee with some incredulity as the god’s servant mentioned her connection with pigeons. She seemed about to ask for an explanation when the small boy burst in.
Dounia looked up at the dirt-smeared face. Whispering, she said, "Hey, want to earn a few coins?" Seeing the child nod, eyes wide, she continued, "Is there another wagon? Go see what's in it. But quietly, this is top secret." Hopefully the child could figure out where their stuff was. Freedom was great, but if she wanted to find Cyra, she was going to need her stuff.
The boy nodded eagerly to Dounia’s suggestion of coin but his face got a screwed up look to it a second later, ”Wait a minute, you’re a slave. You ain’t got any coin.” When Zahra kicked in with the suggestion that mischief might be found the boy added in a whisper, ”No, there ain’t another cart. It’s jus’ this one. But there is a great big chest and some bundles between tha drivers and the horses. One of tha bundles gots a funny little spear stuck through it.”
The male driver's voice boomed, "Hey, you! You better not be messing with our cargo! Get child! Go home to your mother! It's too late for you, don't you hear the sound of the hours?!" The man whipped the tarp up and looked at the six of you and all un-manacled! "How the H*#*@! Cascha! They're out of their chains!"
——
Craedeamh looked softly to Cairee, ”Forgive me Cairee but I shouldn’t trust you. You were in a terrible fever that tried to break many times but lasted a fortnight plus a day. You kept muttering something about an ‘arnyanmar’. You were quite mad. Quard contemplated dumping you in the mountains more than once.”
An arnyanmar?... Oh! Cairee suddenly remembered her nightmare about her siblings, Arnie & Mar. Seems she can never truly get away from them. She looks sadly at Craedeamh. "I was sick that long? How awful for you! I'm so sorry."
Round 23
The man whipped the tarp up and looked at the six of you and all un-manacled! "How the H*#*@! Cascha! They're out of their chains!"
The man's voice pierces Cairee like an arrow right to the gut. This is it! They were seconds away from either escaping or being slaughtered in a cage. Saiph, your will be done. I really hope your will is to save us!
"Ts-im Gni Ruc Sbo!" Cairee raised her palms to the heavens and then made fists as she drew her hands down, as if pulling something from the air. A thick mist filled the cage and spilled out, creating a giant cloud about 40 feet in diameter with Cairee at the centre.
Round 23
"Horith, you fool! You Idiot! Of all the people to have survived the ettercap with!", Cascha pulled on the reigns hard as the wagon buckled and twisted in the road, "I get what Boodigali meant when he said 'you have no enemies but your friends dislike you intensely'!"
The wagon came to a rapid stop and everyone or thing that wasn't tied down lurched forward.
It was as if a great invisible bucket floating two stories in the air tipped itself over and dumped a great fog. No one could see anyone else beyond a few feet away. Craedeamh was completely invisible to either Zahra or Tymythy and all could see neither Cascha nor Horith. Cairee struggled to get out pushing the gate free of Dounia's hand.
Round 23:
The wagon screeched to a stop causing everyone and everything to be tossed about. Zahra managed to keep her feet and was moving towards the last barrier between themselves and freedom.
She found the sudden appearance of fog disorienting. "How are we going to stick together when we can't see each other?" she hissed. "And then there's our stuff...but first things first, we need to get out of this wagon."
Dounia lurched backwards (she'd been facing the locked gate), crashed into Tymythy, bounced forwards, hit the bars, and found herself lying on her face, her mouth full of blood, and nearly being stepped on by Cairee.
Pulling herself to her knees, she whispered, "Hide under the wagon! Let's get the trunk, then run. Stay together!"
Tumbling out of the gate after Cairee, she slid under the wagon and waited, heart in her mouth, unable to see anything at all.
[dice=ref save]1d20+4
Round 23
Cairee tumbled forward, landing on her face. She still managed to cast her spell, muttering the sacred words into the dirt-caked floor.
Pulling herself to her knees, she whispered, "Hide under the wagon! Let's get the trunk, then run. Stay together!".
Cairee squinted into the mist, barely making out the forms of the others. "good idea."
Tymythy held his balance easily as the cart skidded to a stop – a sudden stop wasn’t an entirely unexpected development, and he had been crouching low in any case, thus keeping his center of balance low. The impact when Dounia stumbled into him did more to knock him over, but he managed to recover from that as well, and followed the women out of the cage, his eyes opening in wonder as he stepped into a bank of thickening fog – conjured by Cairee, no doubt. He had no idea how long such a wonder would last, but it did certainly hide the wagon from curious eyes.
And, he thought, it would absolutely make them lost track of each other unless they remained very close to each other indeed. Thus, Dounia’s whispered command sounded most prudent.
”Hold hands,” the hunter whispered, reaching out to the others. ”Hiding here, was smart – prey often runs the moment it can. Thus, the hunter expects us to scatter into the crowd immediately.”
Unsure of her bearings in the fog, Zahra followed the instructions of getting under the wagon. She skittered underneath along with the others.
Cairee burst out of the gate and landed behind the wagon. The thick fog hugged the disturbance and all could only imagine what the outside world was seeing. Dounia, knocked on her belly, clawed her way to the gate, grabbed the edge of the cage bed, and flipped underneath with a mixture of grace and desperation. Tymythy grabbed Zahra's hand. The two followed the word of young Dounia and found her underneath their once-prison.
As Tymythy moved he and Zahra looked back and not a second later a spear's tip thrust downward to where the young hunter had just been. Out of the fog, two strong hands grabbed the spear. Craedeamh grasped the weapon with both hands and thrust it upward. The yell of Horith sounded as the butt end of the spear hit him like it had its' own life.
The slight girl Khata bolted from the cage and ran south east. She was out of sight within a second but her voice was loud and frightened, "They're hiding under the wagon! They're under the wagon!"
"Horith! What are you doing! Get out of that damned fog! The prison- the slaves have to try to make a break for it sometime! Guards! Guards!"
Dounia closed her eyes a moment and focused on the sound of the driver's footsteps. Whichever way they were going, she wanted to go the other way.
Confidant they were heading to the wagon's right, she whispered, "Unless that's a bluff, they're leaving! Let's grab the trunk and package, and head to the left. Stay tight together. And Khata better hope I never see her again."
Moving to the front of the wagon, she tried to figure out where the items were so she could help grab something and then run.
Round 24(?)
Being it life and death, it never even registered with Zahra that Tymythy had grabbed her hand as they escaped the wagon. She bit back a choked squeal as the spear appeared too close for comfort. She had never been in a situation before where someone was actively trying to harm her. She could hear the pounding in her ears as her adrenaline raced.
Had she been alone, panic would have certainly set in. Once again, it was Dounia's voice that brought her back so that she had something to focus on, Their stuff...her stuff. She remembered having a bunch of stuff with her going to market and it wouldn't have just disappeared into thin air. Most of what she had had some sort of sentimental value and so she really wanted it back if possible.
She scurried forward towards Dounia to help the girl look for the package with the spear that the kid had told them about. As she moved forward she also tried to keep an eye out for anyone trying to capture her again. "I knew I was right to turn that girl in. Khata is so mean. I don't understand why she did that. Maybe they'll chase her instead."
Round 24
Cairee tripped out of the door and landed with a thud on the ground. A thick blanket of fog covered her and she could barely see the wagon only feet away. Her instinct was to scramble back, join the others underneath. But she paused.
"Horith! What are you doing! Get out of that damned fog! The prison- the slaves have to try to make a break for it sometime! Guards! Guards!"
Confidant they were heading to the wagon's right, she whispered, "Unless that's a bluff, they're leaving! Let's grab the trunk and package, and head to the left. Stay tight together."
If they're going for their belongings, another body under the wagon wouldn't be helpful. Instead, Cairee began inching along the left side of the wagon, ready to distract anyone who may try to stop her friends or to follow them if they suddenly ran.
Round 24
Truth to be told, Tymythy would have preferred to simply run now that their location had been discovered, but this was certainly not the time nor the place to debate the merits of different battle plans. Thus, he wasted no time in following Dounia, making sure to stay within reach of her so as not to risk losing her in the fog – and hoped the others were doing the same.
You could all hear Craedeamh's stomps as she ran out the back of the cage. She looked to Cairee, who was about to head around the wagon. It was a long look. A wordless 'Goodbye' and the dwarf headed directly south.
The little boy who had been clinging to the right side of the cage dropped to the ground and bolted.
Dounia, Zahra, and Tymythy crouched low as they passed under the front axel of their once prison. They could hear Cascha's voice coming from the left of the wagon but it was several paces off. 'Had she cleared the cloud?'
They came to a section attached to the cage wagon. It had it's own smaller axel and wheels. They had to crawl under what they guessed was the driver's seats and foot rest.
Cairee pressed her body against the wagon as she passed on the left. She could hear Horith clambering down from the cage and rush to the back. Occasionally she could see Zahra's shoe barely visible underneath the wagon just as Zahra could see Cairee's feet creeping.
The yoke arm and reigns reached out from the driver's seats towards the horses. It projected under a suspended frame. The frame held a strong hammock. The hammock was lade with packages. In the centre of the packages was a chest with a pole inserted through the lid. The packages seemed like little bundles wrapped in heavy cloth. One was obvious, the bundle with the short spear - Tymyth's spear.
All could hear Horith's voice coming from the very back of the wagon. "Damn! I can't see the girl! I think she ran south! Did you hear what she said?! The others are under the wagon!"
Cascha's voice was strong but about fifteen to twenty feet off, "Guard! Guard! Bring those others! I have six licenses for slaves fresh from al'Hufra! Four are in this unnatural cloud! One ran east and one is headed south! Please help, surround the cloud. They have to come out sometime and we must be ready!"
The group could hear the distant boots of people running but not yet having reached the cloud.
Zahra felt herself wanting to panic hearing Horith and Cascha's voices so close. She paused as Cascha clearly lied about them being from al'Hufra, wherever that was. Zahra found this extremely confusing. Why was she lying?
Dounia found the packages and it gave Zahra something else to focus on. She glanced inside the packages until she saw something she recognized, My sewing kit! And there's my jewelry!
"I think they're waiting for us to run out of the fog. I wish the fog cloud could move with us as we run. At least for a little while." She could barely make out Dounia, Tymythy, and Cairee. "Is everyone ready to run?"
You could all hear Craedeamh's stomps as she ran out the back of the cage. She looked to Cairee, who was about to head around the wagon. It was a long look. A wordless 'Goodbye' and the dwarf headed directly south.
Cairee wanted to follow Craedeamh, or tell her to stay. After so long chained together it felt wrong to end this way, sneaking off silently in the mist. But Craedeamh had a better chance escaping alone, and Cairee couldn't leave until she was sure they were all safe. So she met Craedeamh's gaze and said a prayer to Saiph in her mind. Keep this woman forever in the warmth of your sun.
Dounia found the packages and it gave Zahra something else to focus on. She glanced inside the packages until she saw something she recognized, My sewing kit! And there's my jewelry!
Cairee wondered if any of her belongings had made it this far, though she could barely remember what those might be. Her armour, maybe. She'd always felt so silly wearing it, like she was dressing up in her siblings' discards, pretending to be impressive. But hearing Horith stomping closer and the call for guards made her wish for some extra protection.
In another life Cairee would have stopped to talk to the guards, reason with them, be confident they would help her. Now she didn't know who to trust and couldn't risk doing something that would put her back in that horrible cage.
"I think they're waiting for us to run out of the fog. I wish the fog cloud could move with us as we run. At least for a little while." She could barely make out Dounia, Tymythy, and Cairee. "Is everyone ready to run?"
Cairee whispered back, "Let's move carefully to the left. When we get close to the edge of the cloud I can cast it again, surprising them and giving us more cover. Then we run."
Dounia's eyes widened as she saw the chest. What treasures might that hold?! But even as avarice shone in her eyes, her ears were giving her important information. They were in the warehouse district, and there were a lot of people around. Guards were coming. It was time to run.
Grabbing a package that she hoped was hers, Dounia whispered back to Cairee, "Good plan!"
As they moved out from under the wagon, Dounia stood upright and cried out in a louder, panicked voice, "The fog! It's poison! I can't breathe!" she coughed and gasped loudly, hoping to scare the crowd a bit further away.